1. Field of The Invention
The present invention relates to nutritional supplements and the manufacture or extraction thereof.
2. Background Information
Recent research indicates that polyphenols in fruits, vegetables, common beverages and plants possess the capacity for diversified, beneficial pharmacological activities. It is widely accepted that these compounds, recently dubbed xe2x80x9cvitamin xe2x80x9d, possess a wide range of beneficial pharmacological activities which include stabilizing capillary wall tissues, maintaining proper permeability and flexibility of capillaries, and preventing cardiovascular diseases. Numerous studies have also shown that most plant polyphenols possess cancer preventive capacity because of their profound antioxidant activity.
It is, of course, well-known that coffee contains caffeine. However, a lesser-known fact is that coffee contains potentially highly beneficial condensed tannin and polyphenolic acids. Coffee beans contain about 4% caffeine and other nitrogen-containing compounds, two different types of polyphenols, known as condensed tannin and polyphenolic acids. Chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, 3,4-dicaffeoyl-quinic acid, 4,5-dicaffeoyl-quinic acid, caffeoyl-3-quinic acid and isochlorogenic acid are the main polyphenolic acids present in coffee beans [1].
Caffeic acid and chlorogenic acid have been shown to possess cancer preventive effect (2, 3). Caffeine has also been found to exert anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic effects (4,5). Coffeedrinking people are less prone to commit suicide (6). Recent epidemiological study shows that drinking coffee has a trend to reduce cancer incidence (7). Feeding tannins isolated from coffee to mice in drinking water has been shown to prevent hepatic neoplasm in C3H male mice (8).
It is important to further note that osteoarthritis affects 12% of the American population, with a disproportionate effect on those of advanced years. Glucosamine and glucosamine sulfate are effective in treating and preventing osteoarthrosis (9). Likewise, chitin and chitosan prevent toxicity of S-FU [10], selectively decrease glucose intake and ATP level in tumor cells [11], inhibit tumor cell proliferation in mice [12], and reduce dietary fat absorption to help losing body weight [13].
As is apparent from the above discussion, elevated human consumption of tannin and polyphenolic acids certainly have the potential for providing substantial health benefits to consumers. However, these beneficial compounds in coffee beans remain largely xe2x80x9clockedxe2x80x9d in discarded coffee grounds under present practices, and are largely unavailable and non-beneficial to coffee drinkers when coffee is brewed by conventional brewing techniques. Therefore, it would be highly beneficial to somehow release substantial portions of coffee""s tannin and polyphenolic acids for consumption during coffee drinking, and even more beneficial to do so in a manner which would not be deleterious to the taste of the coffee and, therefore, constitute a deterrent to an otherwise beneficial activity.
I. Duke, James A. Handbook of phytochemical constituents of GRAS herbs and other economic plants. Boca Raton, Fla. CRC Press, 1992.
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3. Huang M T, Smart R C, Wong C Q, Conney A H, Inhibitory effect of curcumin, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, and femlic acid on tumor promotion in mouse skin by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-t3-acetate. Cancer Res 1988; 48: 5941-5946.
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9. Barclay T S, Tsourounis C. McCart G M. Glucosamine Ann Pharmacother. 1998; 32: 574-579.
10. Kimura Y, Okuda H, Prevention by chitosan of myelotoxicity, gastrointestinal toxicity and immunocompetent organic toxicity induced by 5-fluorouracil without loss of antitumor activity in mice. Jpn J Cancer Res 1999; 90: 765-774.
11. Guminska M, Ignacak J, Wojcik E. In vitro inhibitory effect of chitosan and its degradation products on energy metabolism in Ehrlich ascites tumor cells (EAT). PolJPharmacol 1996; 48: 495-501.
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13. Pittler M H, Abbot N C, Harkness E F, Ernst E, Randomized, double-blind trial of chitosan for body weight reduction. Eur J Clin Nutr 1999; 53:379-381.